Three local campuses will present opera

Baltimore opera fans can catch two 20th century works and nibble on goodies from seven others soon on three local college campuses. It may not be big time opera, but it'll be easier getting tickets than at the mainstream operas in Washington and Philadelphia, opening their seasons Saturday and Monday.

Shows at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and Towson State University open the same night, Nov. 9, but second performances are scheduled on different days.

The productions are as follows:

* UMBC: Menotti's "The Old Maid and the Thief" (1939). UMBC Opera Workshop directed by Robert Kennedy, at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11, in the Fine Arts Recital Hall. Tickets are $3 and $1 for seniors and students. Call 455-2942.

Singing in the "grotesque" 14-scene opera are Donna Eades as Miss Todd, Valerie Lewis as Laetitia, Hope Barbalace as Miss Pinkerton and Alan Garcia as Bob. Two women, Miss Todd and Laetitia, seeking male companionship vie for the attentions of a mysterious stranger.

* Peabody Conservatory: Britten's "The Turn of the Screw." The Peabody Opera Theatre, with Roger Brunyate, artistic director, and Peabody Camerata, Gene Young, music director, at 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, Friday, Nov. 16, and Saturday, Nov. 17, at the Friedberg Concert Hall. There are two seven-singer casts, one for Thursday and Saturday, the other for Friday. Tickets are $15 and $7.50 for seniors and students with ID. Call 659-8124.

Now, for the already heavily sold Washington Opera Company. At 7 p.m. Saturday, the company opens its 35th season by bringing us the head of John The Baptist courtesy of seven-veil dancer Maria Ewing in the title role in Richard Strauss' "Salome." The 35th season has seven operas planned at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Dates and times of other performances are 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11; 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15; 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 19; and 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 23.

Forty standing-room tickets are sold at the Hall of Nations box office the day of Washington performances, starting at 10 a.m. before an evening opera and noon before a 2 p.m. matinee, the company said.

Then, at 8 p.m. Monday at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, James Morris sings Count Almaviva, and his real-life wife, Susan Quittmeyer, sings Cherubino in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro." The Opera Company of Philadelphia repeats "Marriage" at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9. Three other operas are planned this year. For tickets call (215) 893-1999. For information, call (215) 557-2205.